Abstract :
The effectiveness of cognitive-behaviour therapy with young people may be
influenced by a young person’s capacity for self-reflection and insight. Clinicians who assess
clients’ proficiencies in these cognitive capacities can better tailor cognitive and behavioural
techniques to the client, facilitating engagement and enhancing treatment outcome. It is
therefore important that sound instruments for assessing self-reflection and insight in young
people are available. Aims: The aim of the current study was to translate and adapt the Self-
Reflection and Insight Scale (SRIS) for use with a child and adolescent population (Study 1),
and to evaluate the psychometric properties of the resulting measure, the Self-Reflection and
Insight Scale forYouth (SRIS-Y; Study 2). Method: InStudy 1 (n=145), the comprehensibility
of the SRIS-Y was assessed in a community sample of children and adolescents. Study 2 (n = 215) then explored the reliability and structural, convergent, and divergent validity of the
SRIS-Y. Results: The SRIS-Y was found to be comprehensible to young people, and had
good reliability and structural validity. Conclusions: It appears that the SRIS-Y is a sound
instrument for assessing therapy-relevant cognitive capacities in young people, of potential
benefit in both research and clinical contexts. Future research foci include the predictive
validity of the instrument.
